Lack of broadband service, funding gives rise to telehealth services in rural clinics
Summary
In rural Texas, a clinic inside a shipping container provides telehealth services to people who cannot travel long distances for medical care. This effort is a collaboration between Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Texas A&M University to improve healthcare access in areas with few doctors and limited internet.Key Facts
- The Davis Mountain Clinic in Fort Davis uses telehealth to connect patients with doctors and counselors online.
- The clinic is housed in a converted shipping container and mainly serves people with no internet access.
- Texas has many rural counties with no practicing pediatricians; 143 counties lack pediatricians as of 2024.
- The clinic charges a $30 flat fee but offers free routine care like wound treatment and diabetes instruction.
- The project is a partnership between two rival Texas universities working together to help rural healthcare.
- Governor Greg Abbott announced $10 million in grants for rural hospitals and clinics to provide pediatric telehealth.
- Texas leads the U.S. in rural hospital closures due to high costs and lack of enough patients.
- Another similar container clinic recently opened in Burton, Texas, and there are plans to expand to about 40 more counties once funding is found.
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